New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro founder-chairman and billionaire Azim Premji that invests in both privately held and publicly listed companies, has agreed to pump Rs 300 crore (about $32.7 million) into a subsidiary of Mumbai-listed auto components maker Bharat Forge Ltd.

The family office, which boasts of over $15 billion in assets under management spanning financial services, technology, consumer, industrials, and healthcare, and counts airline Akasa Air among its portfolio companies, will acquire a 23% stake in JS Auto Cast Foundry India Pvt Ltd on a fully diluted basis after the infusion, Bharat Forge said in an exchange filing. It will be investing via its PI Opportunities Fund I Scheme II.

"Collaborating with leading conglomerates on their growth and consolidation journey is one of our strategic pillars. Through our investment in JSA, we look forward to jointly building a leading ferrous casting platform in the country," said Manoj Jaiswal, partner at PremjiInvest who leads the firm's industrials and buyout investments.

PWC Investment Banking acted as the sole financial advisor for Bharat Forge.

The deal values JS Auto at about Rs 1,304 crore ($142.5 million), which is about a 2.7x jump from its valuation when Bharat Forge bought it. Bharat Forge had paid about Rs 489 crore to acquire Coimbatore-based JS Auto in July 2022.

JS Auto is a specialised foundry and machining company that manufactures high-quality iron castings for industrial and automotive applications. It provides components to automotive, agriculture, hydraulics, pumps and valve sectors.

"Since 2022 when we acquired JSA, the company has delivered excellent financial performance with topline, exports and profitability, while enhancing its product mix and customer base," said Amit Kalyani, vice chairman and joint managing director, Bharat Forge.

He said the company's topline had grown annually at a rate of 17%, while profitability grew at about 25%. JS Auto reported Rs 697 crore of revenue in the last financial year.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.